A/N: I guess this is it, guys. It has been a nice journey; I remember reading the list of Fairy Tail characters and noting who I wanted to write about; I had assembled 30 characters before I knew it. It took me so much waking up early and staying up until late to finish this on time (and sometimes I still missed the schedule).
Also, I know that Ultear cannot interact with the world, but just... imagine that she can. Alright?


Snow fell from the gray clouds and piled on crisp pillows. Jellal exhaled, his breath turning into mist on the cold air. The lake spread in front of him, still like a mirror. With one foot, as if to test it, he drew a slight line on the ice. A trace of white frost broke the clear water glass. Had it been that long?

It got colder and colder as if time itself pushed Jellal to move. He weakly moved forward; any moment he could fall. His legs wobbled. Look forward, he remembered from Ultear's lessons. How could he do that when he could not even stand up straight? Metal screeched as it scratched the ice - not as bad as his first time, but still close to disastrous.

Wind touched him - an affectionate pat on the back with fingers colder than ice, support to not fall. Jellal smiled, as a memory from far too long ago entered his thoughts. He tried to skate with style, as much as he could muster. "I am not going to fall," he whispered. When Ultear had shown him the movements, they looked so elegant and simple! Even when Jellal was sure he copied them, he felt as if they were both too rough and too complicated.

A single glide in a straight line had never been so difficult. His leg went too high whenever Jellal took it off the ground, his skate dug far too deeply when he propelled himself forward. A complete mess of style and unstylishness, disaster, mastery, beginner's luck and mistakes from experience. With every step, Jellal felt leaning far too close to the lake, too close to losing balance. "Maybe I have forgotten everything -"

A powerful gust of wind swept Jellal off his feet - a slap through the face. He fell in his side - that much he remembered from Ultear - and tried to push himself up. "One thing I haven't forgotten at least." The weather did not intend to let him lose. It was not going to give him an easy win, either.

"I'll take up on your challenge," said Jellal. His skates still dug a bit too deep, his leg still went a bit too high. But if he had a spectator, he could not let himself fail. He turned left with wide arc (otherwise he would have fallen). The wind ruffled his hair. More, more, more!

Could Jellal do one of Ultear's jumps? He had always failed them before. One could not know until they tried! As if driven by the wind, Jellal jumped…

"Congratulations!" Erza - Jellal would guess her voice anywhere - applauded from some part of the lake. Had she been looking? The whole time!

Jellal fell on his back, having forgotten anything else for a moment.